


Impetus

by Yaxis



Category: Callisto 6 (Web Series)
Genre: CallistoFics, F/F, GraffitiPunk, Mind Controlled!Cass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2019-11-04 15:46:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17900948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yaxis/pseuds/Yaxis
Summary: "...Fuck, she had to be more tense from those news reports than she’d thought. Been watching too many fear-mongering reporters holding discussions among themselves. Had their worst case scenarios going on in the background of her head. Yeah, that had to be it..."When a series of attacks begins plaguing Los Angeles, the Callisto 6 are a loss for what, or who, is causing it. As they search for leads, Cass starts hearing whispers in her head that don't quite belong to her.





	1. Cass

It started with a duffel bag.

There was nothing interesting about it. Standard size and shape. A once deep blue color had long been weathered down. The straps were worn and frayed. A pair of stitched initials were sewn into the end pocket with a patch of the number six threatening to come loose at the smallest irritation. It must’ve been some kind of athletic bag once upon a time but its current owner appeared to be anything but an athlete.

With the straps tightly wound around his thin wrists, he hefted the weight of the bag as much as he could onto his shoulder. His shoulder sagged beneath the pressure, his body staggering to one side. Though strangers, adults, came to ask him more than once if he wanted any help with his bag, he waved them off every time. When they tried to ask him questions about where he was going or where his parents were, he didn’t answer and they would eventually continue on their way.

Finally, the boy stood by the entrance of one of the city’s many banks. With sweat creeping down his back and neck, he stood silently before the door. He stared inside, ignoring the confused looks of several entering and exiting patrons. Odd as it may be, he shuffled from side to side and kept chancing glances around as though waiting for someone.

A clock in the window flickered and changed to display that it had just become noon. He bent over, steadily unzipping the duffel bag as a security guard on duty finally decided to come check out what he was doing. Imbalanced under the weight of solid metal cradled against his skinny chest, he lifted the barrel of the plasma rifle and fired directly into the approaching guard’s chest.

It was tragic, the news reported after the fact. It was truly a tragic crime with a number of casualties and no known motive that anyone could decipher. Who, after all, would expect an otherwise happy boy of nine to open fire on a bank? How had he gotten his hands on law enforcement grade weapons? How had no one noticed his odd behavior beforehand? Why had no one reported it to the police before the incident had a chance to take place? Why hadn’t the city’s new so-called ‘heroes’ shown up to stop it from happening at all?

The talking heads of every talk show eagerly dove into the tragedy but even they knew that the public interest in the event would come and go quickly. It would spark a conversation nationwide that would ultimately fade into discontented white noise as everyone moved one from the unfortunate but solitary incident.

They all spoke of copycats when the next incident took place days later at a coffee shop. Discussions of other kids wanting the infamy and coverage, disillusioned with the realities of their lives now that the world around them was changing with the arrival of supposed superbeings and a rippling political landscape. Spokespeople for and against the passing of Measure Z gave their takes on how the measure’s popular vote was affecting kids, linking in whatever agendas they could.

Another tragic incident. It faded all the same.

When two teenagers executed perfectly coordinated attacks down to the minute in restaurants at different parts of the city, the news started to take a different tone. So strange, they said, that all of these kids with no warning signs would do these things. Even stranger, they collectively continued across each channel, that they should suddenly be coordinated. Almost unnaturally so.

Three college students at a Cassium fundraiser. A pair of pre-teens in a formerly corporate park. Three more teenagers had a go at the Pyramid Star corporate building but were overpowered. A single seven-year old.

In total, thirty kids between the ages of seven and twenty-one in thirteen separate attacks. Corporate security was heightened once it became obvious that corporate centers were being overwhelmingly targeted. The attacks had died down somewhat and the surviving perpetrators all said the same thing: it was like a nightmare. Whispers in the back of their mind that became louder and louder until they suddenly knew what they had to do. No control.

The news shut off suddenly.

Cass glanced over her shoulder towards where Lacy sat in front of a one of Blue Dolphin’s many sets of monitors. She had no idea what any of them said but her eyes were trained on the slight trembling of Lacy’s hands. Luma was leaning in close, hand on their arm, and murmuring something undoubtedly reassuring.

Luma was the best at calming Lacy.

Actually, Luma was the best at calming any of them. She’d proved it time and again. Her voice was always low and soothing, but firm enough not to question. Her hand had found Lacy’s to ground them in what she was saying rather than what they were thinking.

Not that Cass could blame them for being upset. With the rumors of some super being being the real perpetrator behind these attacks, it had gotten personal for all of them.

Newscasters had jumped at the chance to try to stoke fears that all superbeings, especially the ones who had already spent so much time in the public eye, should be subject to all of their suspicions. After all, who could say whether they might be the ones causing tremendous damage to the city next? With the unnatural abilities that they had displayed, who could say whether or not they might be behind the attacks themselves?

Many had pushed back against the claims but the idea had been put out there into the world and the damage was done. The infection of that fear festered in the open wound of everyone’s fear.

Wait.

She was still staring at Luma.

Luma’s lips curled into a quizzical half-smile. She’d returned to her sewing machine though she seemed to have paused in anticipation of Cass saying something.

Woops.

Cass jumped up to her feet with a crooked grin, hand reflexively rubbing the back of her neck.

“Gonna go, uh, y’know. Punch some stuff.” Cass said, leaving before anyone could respond to her.

The training room had been a godsend as of late. With this series of attacks, the fear-mongering, and the ever present threat of Fletcher looming over their heads, she’d been feeling as though every muscle was constantly tense. Every nerve felt alive with energy just waiting to be unleashed.

Kylan Prime had been doing his best to pick up leads for them to follow but, so far, he’d found nothing but dead ends. There was no one to fight, no specific person that they could point to as the cause for so much fear and destruction. The frustration of not knowing and not being able to do anything but wait had made all of them antsy, but Cass felt as though it was it eating her alive.

At least they’d made a trip ashore earlier. It’d helped to just grab a couple of funnel cakes with everyone from Elliot’s cart in Raft City. The fresh air and the laughter of her friends always quieted the tension in her bones for a little bit.

Her fist collided with a satisfying crack against the arm of a dummy. No matter how many times she split one of these bad boys apart, it didn’t get less awesome to see the fake limbs go flying. She did that. She, Cass, was capable off doing that.

Man, that was cool.

“Imagine if he was alive. He’d be bleeding out.”

“What?”

Her voice fell in the silence of the room, unanswered.

“Hey!” She spoke louder, turning on the spot. “Who the fuck was-?”

Silence.

“...was that.” Her voice died away.

Fuck, she had to be more tense from those news reports than she’d thought. Been watching too many fear-mongering reporters holding discussions among themselves. Had their worst case scenarios going on in the background of her head. Yeah, that had to be it.

Cass rolled her shoulders back, shaking her arms at her sides as though it would rid herself of the thought of them.

She just needed more stress relief, that was all. Anyone would be bothered hearing people talk about them like that on the news. Just needed to shake off their whispers.


	2. Cass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cass thought it was just passing anxiety. Now, she knew it wasn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Spoilers for "Dark" (2x07) and beyond)

There was always a prickle on the back of her neck these days. More and more, she would sense a presence standing too close to her only to turn to find no one there. It itched and irritated no matter how many times she absentmindedly swiped at the skin there.

Anxiety, right?

After what happened with Oya’s cousin and TAILS having to be forcibly evicted from his brain, it was no wonder that she might be feeling a little jumpy. How many more might be wandering around out there? Even worse, they wanted the piece of garbage computer virus to stick around and keep doing whatever he was doing apparently according to Luma from the future.

They were all on a ticking clock.

This time would be different, they all assured each other, this time they would change enough to be successful. The world as they knew it wouldn’t end in catastrophe, the warped multidimensional being known as Fletcher wouldn’t wreck their reality and steal the Callisto energy from their bodies, Oya wouldn’t die sending Luma back in time and Luma wouldn’t be forced to die in the process of releasing the energy on them for just one more go. Again. Not again.

Dr. Patel set herself to work in Blue Dolphin’s laboratory. There had to be some type of containment system that she would be able to design to give them the resource that they needed to bring her back a sample from the transport. She did what she could to provide information on space and what would be required to build a ship to navigate themselves safely from the ground into the stars above.

Lacy spent an inordinate amount of time with Sweet Baby devising plans and calculations and this and that. Luma flitted in and out of the lab to cook, organize, sew, rinse and repeat. It was as though sitting in one place simply wasn’t enough for the amount of nervous energy there was to burn off. Oya could be found poring over books upon books about the far out theoretics of what time travel could entail as though they would grant her revelations. Hopps spent most of her time in the training room with Anton nearby.

Then there was Cass.

She paused in one of the doorways to the common room late one night as Lacy and Luma were heading back to spend time with their respective families in Raft City. As the elevator closed, Luma spotted her and waved a hand just before the doors shut her away from view.

“ _Everyone has something to work on or contribute. Except you._ ” A puff of air tickled her ear with the soft words, a presence whispering within centimeters of her skin.

She didn’t turn.

This was the ‘what’ that she had kept tucked away from everyone else for a little while now. With Anton’s potential PTSD symptoms and Hopps’s death and Lacy’s near kidnapping into the Dark and Luma facing the realities of having held herself as she died and Oya coming to term with the fact that she was the key to being able to save the world or allow them another chance should they fail... Everyone had their own more pressing and important matters that they should be focusing on over her whatever this was.

“Ignore it. Just ignore it.” One breath in, one breath in. Clear thoughts and have a mantra or whatever and just ignore it until it went away again. Shit, what was her mantra? Marshmallow was Hopps’s. Sure, whatever. Marshmallow, marshmallow, marshmallow.

“Really?” A soft laugh blew against her neck. It felt like fingers were slowly trailing down her arms with the feather light touch of undeserved intimacy. “Are you just going to ignore me now? After all I’ve seen of your life, I thought that we were closer by now.”

Her fist swung and caught empty air next to her.

“That’s quite rude, Cassie. Didn’t your parents teach you any manners?”

A chill rain along her spine. This was more than just what she had been excusing as self-doubts and anxiety. Someone was talking to her. They had to be.

“Who the fuck--”

“Quiet, dear.”

Her words died immediately.

The words reverberated and then there was a knock.

Cass sat up in bed, a cold sweat dampening her shirt as she all but fell out of the bed.

“Cass.” A gruff voice called from outside the door. “Coffee.”

Sal was making his morning rounds to make sure they all had any and all coffee they could possibly need for the morning. He certainly sounded real enough. The cold metal of the floor felt real beneath her palms, the soft humming of the base’s circulatory systems sounded real, and the clothes sticking to her skin were certainly making her feel really cold beneath the air conditioning. Which had to mean that she had been having a nightmare.

“Uh, y-yeah! One sec, thanks Sal!” Cass called as Sal thumped heavily against the door again. She quickly untangled herself from the sheets bunched around her legs so she could hurry to open the door.

“Thanks, buddy. I’ll be out in a few, okay?” She smiled the best that she could, reaching out to take the steaming coffee mug from his massive hands. He simply stared at her thoughtfully for a few long moments, brow furrowed. Eventually, he gave a slow nod and began to shuffle down the hallway towards the common area.

She could hear Luma brightly greeting him.

If Luma knew, she would be worried. They all would be. They would want to know about what she had just experienced even if it was just a nightmare. Maybe there was even something that Lacy could do to help her sleep better or to get rid of the weird voice altogether. What she needed to do was go in there and talk to her team.

They were her family.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she found herself turning as though on autopilot to grab a towel so she could head towards the shared shower area of the base. The coffee mug sat on her desk.

The rest of the day passed without incident. Then the next did as well. The urge to tell everyone else about what had happened dwindled away into nothing. A nightmare didn’t exactly seem like crucial information in the face of everything that they needed to accomplish within the next month.

“Hey, Cass?” Luma plopped down next to her on the couch. She was smiling but there was a soft downward turn to the corners of her lips that made it clear that something was on her mind.

“You okay? Is everyone alright? Do you need--” Cass was halfway up from her seat when Luma quickly reached out to take her hand. Later she could look back on this and be embarrassed by how readily she responded to the gentle touch but now, in the moment, she just looked down to meet Luma’s eyes.

“No, no, everything’s okay. It was just, here, come on.” Luma tugged a little to get her to sit back down. She followed, settling back next to Luma but not quite wanting her to let go. Not yet. To her surprise, Luma just continued to hold her hand. She oriented her body to be totally open to Cass, focused in on her in a way that made a flash of heat erupt in her chest. “Sal mentioned a couple of days ago that he was worried about you. I wasn’t sure but, I don’t know, over the last couple of days things seem… I know everyone’s tense but you seem like something’s bothering you.”

Seeing Cass ready to deny it, Luma hurriedly continued, “I just want you to know I’m here. We all are. I’m sure Oya would love to talk to you about, you know, whatever. But I’m here too. If you want.”

Now was the time to tell her. Just get it off her chest and have it done with. If she was open about it then Luma would reassure her and it would be over with. Nothing else to be concerned about. Even as she thought about telling Luma, the words began to form in her brain and she opened her mouth to speak.

"No, no, just didn't sleep well that night and I think Sal was worried about that. Nothing major." The words left her lips. She felt her free hand reach up to scratch the back of her neck, a sheepish grin forming on her face. Her hand squeezed Luma's briefly in a show of reassurance that would have been natural in any other circumstance.

Backing out of telling Luma could’ve been fine in another case if it had been what she intended to do. Instead, she found her body and voice acting of their own accord no matter how she demanded that they listen to her. Luma, even worse, seemed momentarily placated by the response. Their hands lingered together, Luma’s thumb stroking over her knuckles.

“Okay, yeah. Just… wanted to let you know. Anytime you want to talk, okay?” Luma said, breaking the silence between them.

“Thanks, Luma.” Cass found herself leaning in a little. She didn’t close the distance much but it was enough to notice how Luma’s eyes flickered downwards briefly before meeting her eyes again. The skin around Luma’s collarbones reddened with an obvious sudden rush of blood. “Really. It means a lot.”

Luma just smiled, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her face.

“You should really just ask her out considering you’re all going to die soon. You’re both wasting time and, you know, I think she likes you too.” The voice, light and cool, erupted around her once Luma headed back in the direction of the laboratory to rejoin Lacy as they worked. She was certain now that she was the only one hearing it.

She tried to turn to see if she could find a source but her body wouldn’t listen. Instead, her body settled back on the sofa with her legs crossed lazily and her hand raised to examine her cuticles. When her head lifted again, there was a translucent figure sitting on the coffee table in front of her.

“Now, Cassie, couldn’t have you giving away our little secret.” The figure solidified as she watched. Dark, wavy hair. Pale skin. Dancing brown eyes. The thin lips curled and she felt her own mirror the action of their own accord. “We can always make the moves on her you’re too much of a coward to make on your own. She’d be into it if we asked her on a date. Maybe to that restaurant she loves. Old Venice, was it?

Face-to-face with the owner of the voice, pieces finally slipped into place.

Cass had seen her before.

Some time ago, she’d bumped into a young woman around her own age while grabbing a couple of funnel cakes to bring aboard Amelia for everyone. The contact had only been for a second but she remembered the way that those dark eyes seemed so cold in contrast to the bright smile that she wore. It was weird and a little unsettling, but Cass hadn’t thought too much about it and the brief exchange of apologies and lighthearted conversation had made everything seem just fine. The woman had touched her arm in a friendly gesture before they headed their separate ways. Cass hadn’t thought about it since.

“There you go.” The woman grinned and, again, Cass felt herself doing the same no matter how she fought to lunge towards the translucent figure. It was like pounding her fists against an unbreakable glass window, able to see to the other side at what was happening but unable to get through.

Funnel cake girl, okay. What was her name? What was it? She’d introduced herself after making a joke but Cass had been intent on trying to get back to everyone else.

“It’s Josie Claremont.” Josie leaned in towards her. This time, Cass didn’t mimic the movement. With a jolt, she found herself back in control of her body.

She tried again to propel herself towards Josie’s image but remained frozen in place. She could lift her hand, turn her head, grit her teeth, swear softly under her breath. It was as though there was a filter in place locking her out of doing certain actions while others were perfectly fine.

“What the fuck did you do to me?” Cass said, her voice a barely audible hiss as the television chattered in the background.

“A girl had to be memorable somehow or I'd be in the same friendzone Luma is being kept in for some reason.” Josie stood, walking around to join her on the couch. “No, but really, Fletcher says hello. We’re not all poisonous failures like some people.”

A glance towards the ongoing news cycle showed a flash of Jerome Blare with Hakim Sophia continuing on with some updated report regarding his case and imprisonment.

“You _fuck_ \--”

Josie waved a hand and the words instantly died away.

“Josie works just fine, usually, but Impetus is preferred. Everyone needs a cool superhero name.” She leaned in condescendingly close as the door to the lab opened once more and Luma came back out to head towards the kitchen area. Cass again felt the glass window slam down in front of her. Her hand rose unwillingly to wave. Luma smiled and returned the gesture before continuing on her way.

Cass’s heart raced, pounding in her ears.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Josie looked over towards where Luma had been. “Kind, supportive, good. Just good. In that sickeningly pure sort of way. Don’t you wonder what kind of havoc a shapeshifter would wreak on this city of ours? The supposed hero caught in the midst of a murder spree. Like you’ll be.”

This wasn’t happening. It was another nightmare. It had to be.

Cass squeezed her eyes shut, hands clenched into fists.

“Marshmallow, marshmallow, marshmallow, uh, mantra, mantra--”

“Open your eyes.” The soft air on her cheek made it feel like Josie was within inches of her face. Her eyes opened. “I want you to look at me when I say this. Look at me.”

For the first time, her eyes flickered in hesitation but the split second passed when Josie hummed with impatience. Her eyes snapped over to meet Josie’s.

“You’ll want to tell them, but you won’t be able to. You’ll find yourself in places with no memory of how you got there and I want you to know it’s because of me. Maybe you’ll be aware of what’s going on but not be able to control yourself. Everything you are is mine now, Cassie Charke, and soon,” Luma’s footsteps approached again. Josie looked over towards her and Cass found herself mirroring the action once more, “she will be too.”


	3. Luma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something was wrong with Cass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** Warning: There is a panic attack in this chapter. **
> 
> (Spoilers for "A Heroic Endeavor" (2x09) and beyond)

Something was wrong with Cass.

 

At first, there was the thought that maybe she was just looking too closely into things. Everyone was on edge around the base these days. They were all, except for Lacy, finding busy work to keep them occupied until they could finally make headway into flying a ship into space within the next few weeks. Lacy and Dr. Patel were really the only two with actual helpful work that they were making progress on. Everyone else? What they did around the base while the real work was taking place felt like desperate white noise.

 

With the revelation of Oya’s ability to reach across dimensions to contact other versions of herself, everyone’s energy had been tossed into overdrive. Ollie, Fawn, Dr. Patel, the moon, but maybe not the moon, maybe another course of action, no, wait, why build a rocket from scratch when Pyramid Star had a perfectly good used one laying around that they could infiltrate and suit up for space? With one thing on top of another, the weight pressing down onto them all, it was no surprise that the ongoing stress might be getting to them.

 

But Luma didn’t voice her concerns about what might be getting to Cass.

 

Cass had been, well, bold. Direct. It wasn’t to say that Cass somehow failed to be those things on a regular basis. After all, Cass was known for bold and brash. Whether it was while she was staring down the face of an enemy or trying to offer help to a friend, Cass was nothing if not brave.

 

Even so, there were certain topics that they found themselves dancing around even with all of that boldness and brashness. There was so much more going on in the world all of the time that they never sat down and talked about the unspoken elephant that came stomping in whenever they happened to find a second or two alone together. Maybe there was something there between them that was worth pursuing even in the face of an apocalypse threatening to open its jaws and swallow them whole. Or, and this was the part that held Luma back without a clearer read on the situation, maybe she was imagining connection where there was only friendship.

 

At least, they used to dance around the topic anyway.

 

For the last couple of days, Cass had been rather forward but it somehow lacked the usual natural charm that seemed to come so easily to her the rest of the time. At first, Luma chalked it up to nerves about this potential intimate situation piled on top of the whole ‘Let’s fly to the moon in a stolen rocket’ idea that was still taking a little time to get used to her. Even with it having been part of her and Lacy’s idea, there were still moments where she found herself staring off into space while waiting offhandedly to wake up from an extended dream.

 

Luma had found Cass’s hands lingering on hers more times than could be chalked up to accident. Cass would wander into the common room late at night when they were all sleeping over on the base. Cass would seek her out very intentionally, strike up conversation, stay past the time that they both knew they should’ve gone to sleep. Cass would shift in close as they spoke in the still air, Luma would feel her heart jump before she looked into Cass’s eyes, her skin would flush with heady anticipation, and then it was like cold water would be poured over her head.

 

It was Cass’s eyes that began to give away that something wasn’t quite right.

 

No matter what they were talking about, no matter what time of day, no matter the stress or joy or anxiety or anger or sadness that any number of them might be experiencing, Cass’s eyes never changed. Her smile never quite reached them like they used to. Nothing did.

 

Instead, Luma would find herself glancing over towards Cass as they discussed something or other as an entire group and find Cass surveying the rest of them with an almost unsettling sort of calm. Her eyes would rarely be fixed on the person talking. With all of them paying attention to the speaker, it almost felt like Luma was catching Cass in the middle of sizing the rest of them up in a way that she had never seen before. Her eyes swept cross them, lingered with sharp intent and calculation, proceeded on to the next in line. Even stranger was when she would look up only to find those piercing eyes focused on her rather than anyone else in the group.

 

There would be a heartbeat where a sudden chill ran down her spine. Goosebumps rose all across her skin, her hair rising on the back of her neck as though in bizarre warning against this person she so deeply cared for. Cass would meet her eyes, smile slowly in a faint echo of herself, and turn back to focusing on whatever the topic at hand was. The rapid adrenaline rush of fight or flight would linger until Cass cracked a joke or smartass remark that sparked close to her usual Charke charm.

 

Close, but not quite.

 

It wasn’t…  _ right _ .

 

It didn’t  _ feel _ right.

 

Still, maybe she was overthinking it all. It wasn’t like sleep was easy to find. A good night’s rest had been eluding her for a little while now. Restlessness overtook her as she ran over their plans, what they needed to do, and what would inevitably happen to everyone that they loved if they happened to fail. Again. It could have been that her brain was so revved into self-preservation mode that she was seeing shadows where there were none. Why else would she suddenly have reservations about Cass after everything that they had been through together over the last couple of months. Excessive anxiety could have easily been the most reasonable explanation for her misgivings.

 

Could have been.

 

If it wasn’t for Lacy, maybe she would still be going down that path of self-doubt.

 

Mendoza had just ended a call with all of them to deliver an unexpected lead. Kostchie, on assignment from KP, had taken to hunting down information on the strange mass shootings that had happened some time ago. KP apparently had just had a feeling about it, the timing, and the way that the authorities had failed to dig up concrete information or connections.

 

Kostchie had finally found solid connections between a significant number of the perpetrators. In the week leading up to the event itself, half of the perpetrators had been caught on camera coming into contact with the exact same woman. The authorities may have never noticed. Tracking some of the other perpetrators even further back, Kostchie found the same woman coming into contact with nearly all of them at some point or another. With each interaction, she made physical contact even if it was as brief as pretending to accidentally brush against their arms in passing.

 

Her name was Josephine Claremont. She had a military record as a pilot of some kind with nothing but commendations until a sudden, unexplained honorable discharge. She seemed to be a wildcard that could be a morale booster before their big moon mission. An extra player to practice their teamwork and, most importantly, get some justice for the dozens of children and countless citizens whose lives had been destroyed. With the name and face available to view, Moonlight had been able to draw out memories of who she was and what her abilities were.

 

Josephine was one of Fletcher’s many agents but was particularly used for controlled, precision strikes that could be blamed squarely whatever random innocents she chose. The mass shootings, for instance, had had a huge impact on disrupting the integration of corporate Los Angeles in accordance with Measure Z. Extra security was needed around and the authorities, still finding their footing with the loss of corporate securities forces, had been forced to spread themselves thinly around the city. The public faith in the police’s ability to protect them and their vulnerable children had been rocky ever since the lack of resolution with the shootings. Already, there were plenty of people trying to call for some sort of addendum to keep corporate security forces in place.

 

If they could take out this threat before they left, they would leave Los Angeles with one less threat to worry about while they were gone.

 

Cass was quiet. 

 

Every time Luma caught her eye, she was left with the distinct feeling that Cass wanted to say something. Her face flashed with an expression as though she was fighting with herself to get the words out but just couldn’t bring herself to do so. It was very un-Cass. Abruptly, Cass turned and left the room which caught everyone’s attention but none more so than Lacy’s who was looking after her with an expression of bewilderment.

 

“I’ll go talk to --” Luma was already on her feet and taking steps to follow when a soft touch on her wrist stopped her.

 

“She’s not alone.”

 

“She’s what?” Luma looked down at them.

 

“Cass, she’s--” Lacy faltered, searching for the right words as they gestured to their temple, “It’s not just -- I heard her just for second, like I hear you and I don’t usually hear her but it was so… It was strong, really strong, for a second and… it’s not  _ just  _ Cass in there.”

 

They stood there in the common room, all looking at each other.

 

The behavior that hadn’t made sense for the last couple of weeks began clicking into place along other pieces. The half-hearted charm, the autopilot-like nature of some conversations, the quips and remarks that felt just to the left of what Cass would naturally say, the finding Cass wandering the base as though she’d never explored before, the repeated instances of sleeplessness, the uneasy confusion on Cass’s face when she finally acted more like herself, and, even more, the countless number of times that it felt like Cass was dying to say words that wouldn’t come to her. Everything could have been, and  _ had _ been, chalked up to the stress crushing all of them.

 

Except what made even more sense than stress was if Cass just wasn’t Cass at all.

 

“Operator Lacy.” Sweet Baby broke the silence, “Friendly Cass has undocked Amelia.”

 

“Hey, Cass, buddy, where are you headed off to?” Anton was the first to pull her up on their communications. His voice was level and calm in contrast to a clenched fist at his side and the tight muscle of his jaw. Dead air met his question right up until he opened his mouth to speak again.

 

“I think we both know Cass isn’t smart enough to pilot this baby, but appreciate the concern. It’s  _ Josie _ , by the by. Hate being called Josephine. Too formal.” Cass’s voice was sickly in its cheerfulness. The tone changed on a dime as Luma watched a faint green glow grow around Lacy’s irises. “And Lacy, you could pilot this dropship right back to the base but I will punch a hole in this thing and start taking deep breaths of water the the moment that we break the surface.”

 

Lacy’s hands dropped into their lap. The glow receded from their eyes.

 

“Don’t worry too much, I’m just going to land your dropship in Raft City and then we’ll be out off your way. We have work to see to.”

 

“If you hurt her, if you do  _ anything _ …” There were no words to do justice to the white hot burn spreading through her chest at that moment. There was no great enough threat or promise that Luma could find to explain just what those consequences would be. Luma could feel that fury clawing for freedom like a bear at the bars of a too small cage.

 

“That’s cute, Luma. Always so cute, you know? I give Cass a hard time for not asking you out but you should’ve taken the chances when you had them too. Too late now.” Cass’s expression twisted into an unnaturally mocking grin on the other side of the communications. “And sweetheart, you should be more worried about what  _ she’s  _ going to do.”

 

Cass closed the video connection.

 

“What do we -- What the hell! What the hell was that?” Hopps’s voice launched everyone else into rapidfire discussion.

 

Anton’s breath was rapid and shallow, his chest rising and falling too quickly to be comfortable. He paced this way and that as Hopps twisted her lightning rod in her hands as a way to channel some of her agitation. Oya had left the room already to head to the elevator. There was no opening it until Amelia was returned and docked, but she would be the first one on that ship when it happened. Lacy’s irises glowed with that soft green glow as they undoubtedly tracked Amelia’s location every step of the way. The moment that Amelia was safely landed and Cass departed, they would recall Amelia right back to base so that the team could follow after.

 

And then they would do something. Just something. Anything.

 

Luma stood there, arms wrapped around herself and eyes shooting to the clock every few moments. The only way that time could’ve stretched on longer was if Oya slowed the seconds into hours.

 

Cass had been acting off for a while now. It’d been a couple of weeks at least. Sal had mentioned it offhandedly that Cass was acting odd but she had talked to Cass after that. She’d observed, waited, and then they’d talked. Cass had been fine, hadn’t she? With that charming grin and hand-waving that everything was okay, Cass had seem alright. Cass had held her hand for that beat too long to just be friendly, had leaned in close enough for Luma to feel her heart skip and her skin flush under her gaze. That had been Cass.

 

Hadn’t it?

 

Cass had stretched out on her bed just over a week ago, arms folded behind her head and her eyes on the ceiling where the image of stars stretched across its surface. Lacy knew how claustrophobic the base could feel at times especially when they stayed over the course of several days. They had made a tiny device to project the image of the actual night sky onto the ceiling so that Luma felt a little closer to home.

 

Luma had invited Cass to stargaze with her for a while. Cass smiled, eagerly accepted, and then they’d spent hours beyond what she had originally planned just looking at Luma’s ceiling. Luma piped up with stories about being out with Lacy and doing this exact same thing or taking the twins out when they were still small to spin fairy tales about the constellations or just standing on the deck of her home and looking up whenever she just needed a breather. There was nothing like being able to watch the soft glow of the stars while the ocean gently rocked her to sleep.

 

Cass had shared stories too.

 

Her part of Baldwin Island still fell victim to a large amount of light pollution, but she would still sometimes sit on the dilapidated swing sets when she found herself wandering the streets nearby at night because they had an okay view of the sky while still affording some amount of safety in the streetlights. Sometimes after she clambered up the tree to reach Oya’s window, she and Oya would grab a late night box of doughnuts and hot cocoa and just sit outside so they could talk. Other times, Cass would wander on her own by the graffiti layered thickly over the brick walls in the neighborhoods surrounding her home, find a secluded space with a decently unobstructed view of the night sky, and just sit there until she finally fell asleep.

 

After so long only picking up a scrap here or there about Cass’s life outside of their shared experiences, it had been so precious to gain those little bits of insight. Cass had trusted her with these brief stories about herself, had offered some unspoken insight into some familial relationships by not mentioning them nearly as much (or at all) in the way that Luma had. Cass had stayed there with her and enjoyed the silence. And when she woke up the next more, blinking away sleep and reaching out for Cass next to her, she’d found a sweet note and coffee on the bedside table.

 

That had been Cass.

 

Hadn’t it?

 

She would’ve known if it had been someone other than Cass. She would’ve noticed or said something, she would’ve told Oya and gotten her opinion, she would’ve done more. She would have noticed that something was wrong if it was going on longer than that. Unless, and her stomach was starting to turn more and more as she stared in the direction of the clock, she wouldn’t have.

 

Unless she had been having these moments with Cass and it wasn’t Cass at all in the driver’s seat. Unless she had been so wrapped up in enjoying the time they had together that she had brushed off the warning signs that a better friend, a better person, would have picked up on. Unless she had been oblivious in ignoring smoke when a fire had been roaring beneath the surface.

 

Ringing grew louder in her ears, tension building up behind her forehead and eyes as she watched Anton tightly gripping himself and forcing his eyes shut. Painful aches ripped at her stomach, twisting the contents around and around while every fine hair on her arms, legs, and neck stood straight up with a wretched shiver that sent her moving automatically towards the sink in the kitchen area. Acrid, sickly pressure rose higher and higher in her throat until she suddenly found herself hunching over the cool metal of the sink and retching as the contents of her stomach emptied.

 

The floor felt as though it was rushing away from her feet with nothing to support her. She clung onto the edge of the counter top for dear life because the world would crack and leave her floating in the emptiness of space if she didn’t have something to hold onto. If she didn’t hold on, everything and everyone would be gone. She would be gone like Cass was gone, severed from this narrow, painful place of existence. Her breath came in lurching gasps, too fleeting and too fast. The room spun and spun and fell away as cold dread buzzed across her skin.

 

Nothing would be okay. Nothing was okay. What if they couldn’t get Cass back? What if something happened and they ended up having to go to the moon one member down? What if Cass was just gone, just like that. Just like Hawk had been. There, smiling at her with bright eyes and charm one moment, and then gone. Just gone in a blink. All it took was one moment for any of them to be gone, to fall away. And if Cass wasn’t with them, what if Lacy was next? What if they had to save the world without Cass and then without Lacy and would it even be worth saving then and what if --

 

“...Just breathe in for me, okay? Slowly, just breathe in.”

 

The voice muddled through the fog, her hands gently being pried from the edge of the counter top.

 

She was facing Anton. His hands were holding hers and he was looking her in the eyes. He breathed in, slow and deliberate. She followed him. Slow breath in, slow breath out.

 

Lacy was at her side, helping to lead her over to the sofa. Hopps squeezed her shoulder as she sat down. Oya had even returned and wrapped an arm around her. Moonlight perched by the sofa worriedly with Sal right next to her. In Sal’s hand was oh-so gently clutched a small, peeping chick that kept trying to nip at his fingers. All the while, Anton breathed in and so did she. Anton breathed out and so did she.

 

“Just take a minute.” Anton said. His voice was clearer now that the ringing and pounding of her own heartbeat were starting to fade away. “First we help ourselves, okay? And then we’ll be able to help Cass. We _are_ going to help Cass, Luma. But we have to be okay first.”


End file.
